Astana needs 6 million euros

After a hearing in Switzerland the UCI has put Team Astana back on the hot seat again, demanding the remaining 6 million euros of sponsorship money for 2009.

De Telegraaf reported that if the UCI does not secure the funding by Wednesday the team's ProTour license's could be at risk. However, it seems the door was left open for team manager Johan Bruyneel to find an alternate solution.

This comes on the heals of Astana management slapping a two-week suspension on Kazakhstan's champion Assan Bazayev for failing to make his whereabouts sufficiently known for the doping authorities.